5-2-2026 Fire in Forests

For more than 20 years, Brian Pinson has enjoyed managing some of the most diverse and rare resources from the Florida Scrub to the Oregon Oak Savannas. Brian has been a prescribed fire practitioner since 2004 and has been responding to and fighting wildfires throughout the country since 2011. With more than 200 prescribed fires under his belt, he has seen firsthand how Florida ecosystems and habitats respond to "good fire." This presentation will highlight some differences between fire-dependent and fire-tolerant plant communities and how lightning and indigenous people have used fire to shape the landscape for hundreds of years. We will discuss how "good fires prevent bad fires" and how pine trees are adapted to fire.